Self-adaptive communications network selection

ABSTRACT

A public land mobile network (PLMN) selection procedure may be generated that, when implemented, disables at least one resource of a particular mobile device to prevent a scan of particular ones of PLMNS that exhibit supported access technologies, and/or supported frequency bands of supported access technologies, incompatible with a preferred operation of the particular mobile terminal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to PCT application No.PCT/CN2012/084114, filed on Nov. 6, 2012, and entitled “self-adaptivecommunications network selection”, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Modern multimode mobile devices allow an end-user the flexibility toconnect with multiple, differently configured networks using a singledevice. In such devices, however, a trade-off may exist between devicecomplexity and performance. It may therefore be advantageous to optimizethe allocation of device resources in scenarios where a degradation inperformance may be perceived by an end-user.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method for generating a public land mobile network(PLMN) selection procedure is disclosed. The method may include, forexample, identifying one or more PLMNs each operably configured toprovide coverage within at least a portion of a particular geography.The method may further include determining a supported accesstechnology, and supported frequency bands of the supported accesstechnology, of each of the PLMNs. The method may still further includegenerating the PLMN selection procedure that, when instantiated,disables at least one of a software resource and a hardware resource ofa particular mobile terminal to prevent a scan of particular ones of theplurality of PLMNS that exhibit supported access technologies, andsupported frequency bands of supported access technologies, incompatiblewith a preferred operation of the mobile terminal.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method is disclosed that mayinclude, for example, searching a resource list that identifies one ormore public land mobile networks (PLMNs) and that specifies an accesstechnology configuration of each one of the one or more PLMNs. Themethod may further include comparing an access technology configurationof a particular mobile device against the access technologyconfiguration of each one of the PLMNs to identify ones of the PLMNsthat exhibit at least one supported access technology in common with thedevice. The method may still further include selecting at least one PLMNas a candidate network to serve the device within a particulargeographic region. The method may still further include implementing aPLMN selection procedure that scans supported access technologies, andsupported frequency bands of supported access technologies, of the atleast one PLMN, that are compatible with the device, and that disables aresource of the device operably configured to scan supported accesstechnologies, and supported frequency bands of supported accesstechnologies, of the at least one PLMN that are incompatible with apreferred operation of the device.

In another aspect, a multimode mobile device is disclosed. The devicemay include, for example, one or more communication interfaces eachoperably configured to communicate with at least one public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) according to a particular access technology. The devicemay further include at least one memory cache configured to store a datalist that specifies an access technology configuration of the device,and an access technology configuration of each of one or more PLMNs, thePLMNs each operably configured to provide network coverage within atleast a portion of a particular geographic region. The device may stillfurther include a controller coupled to each one of the one or morecommunication interfaces and the at least one memory cache. Thecontroller may be operably configured to implement a PLMN selectionprocess that disables at least one of a software resource and a hardwareresource of the device to prevent a scan of particular ones of the PLMNSthat exhibit supported access technologies, and supported frequencybands of supported access technologies, incompatible with a preferredoperation of the device.

This Summary does not in any way limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of an example method for generating a publicland mobile network selection procedure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example simplified mobilecommunications environment.

FIG. 3 shows an example embodiment of a local resource list.

FIG. 4 shows an example embodiment of a PLMN selection procedure.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for an example method for maintaining the localresource list of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method for updating exceptiondata within the local resource list of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 shows an example graphical user interface configured forcontrolling resource list update functionality, and for interacting withthe local resource list of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 shows an example mobile computing system or device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for optimizingan algorithm used by a mobile terminal to implement a PLMN (Public LandMobile Network) selection scan. Although described in the context of amobile communications environment, the various aspects of the presentdisclosure are generally applicable to any scenario in which it may bedesirable to increase mobile device battery efficiency and improveend-user quality of experience or service. For example, and referringnow to FIG. 1, a method 100 for generating a PLMN selection procedure isshown in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. Ingeneral, the PLMN selection procedure may be used by a mobile terminalto implement a PLMN selection scan.

The example method 100 may include identifying (module 102), by a mobileterminal, one or more PLMNs that are each respectively configured toprovide network services or coverage, to compatibly configured computingdevices, within a particular geographic region. In this manner, themobile terminal is configured to resolve each ROA (Recognized OperatingAgency) that provides land mobile telecommunications services within acertain area, district, or territory. For example, the mobile terminalmay query, as part of a discovery process, a local resource list todetermine that a particular PLMN A and a particular PLMN Bare registeredwithin a specific country C. In general, a particular MCC/MNC tuple is aPLMN-specific identifier. In this example, the mobile terminal may use aparticular MCC (Mobile Country Code), which uniquely identifies thecountry C, as a query parameter to identify all PLMNs stored within theresource list that exhibit or contain the particular MCC. Thus, in thepresent example, the mobile terminal may uniquely identify PLMN A andPLMN B as ROAs that operate within the country C. Other embodiments arepossible.

The example method 100 may also include determining (module 104), by themobile terminal, a supported RAT (Radio Access Technology), and allsupported frequency bands of a corresponding supported RAT, of each PLMNidentified as configured to provide coverage within the particulargeographic region (see module 102). The mobile terminal is thusconfigured to precisely identify a supported RAT, along with acorresponding supported band allocation scheme, as implemented by eachrespective PLMN. For example, the mobile terminal may query the localresource list (e.g., using a corresponding MCC/MNC tuple as a queryparameter) and determine that PLMN A supports a GSM (Global System forMobile Communications) access technology, and also determine that PLMN Bsupports a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) accesstechnology. In particular, the mobile terminal may, for example,determine that PLMN A supports GSM in bands 900 and 1800, and that PLMNB supports WCDMA in band 850. In this example, an ATC (Access TechnologyConfiguration) of PLMN A may be represented by an identifierGSM-900/GSM-1800, and an ATC of PLMN B may be represented by anidentifier WCDMA-850. Other embodiments are possible.

For example, and as described in further detail below, the mobileterminal may be configured to determine or identify missing orincomplete configuration details of a particular supported RAT. Forexample, in instances where there is some, but incomplete, supported RATinformation within a local SIM/USIM (Subscriber IdentityModule/Universal Subscriber Identity Module), the mobile terminal mayaccess a particular resource list to identify missing or incompleteconfiguration details. For example, certain configuration details withinthe SIM/USIM may specify that a particular PLMN supports 3Gcommunications, without designating type of supported access technology(e.g., WCDMA or TD-SCDMA). In this example, the mobile terminal mayquery or access the particular resource list and determine that theparticular PLMN supports, for example, WCDMA. Accordingly, the mobileterminal may resolve missing or incomplete configuration details and usecorrect RAT configuration information in a subsequent PLMN selectionprocess. Still other embodiments are possible.

The example method 100 may further include comparing (module 106), bythe mobile terminal, an ATC of each identified PLMN (see module 104)against an ATC of the mobile terminal to identify each PLMN that is atleast partially compatible with the mobile terminal. Accordingly, themobile terminal is configured to identify each PLMN that is at leastpotentially capable of establishing a communications connection with themobile terminal within the particular geographic region. For example,and assuming for the sake of discussion that an ATC of the mobileterminal may be represented by identifiers GSM-850/GSM-1900.GSM-900/GSM-1800, WCDMA-850, and LTE-800 (indicating that the mobileterminal supports a Long Term Evolution RAT in band 800), the mobileterminal may determine that the ATC of the mobile terminal iscompatible, at least in part, with the ATC of PLMN A. This is because,in the present example, both the mobile terminal and PLMN A supportGSM-900/GSM-1800. Additionally, the mobile terminal may determine thatthe ATC of the mobile terminal is at least partially compatible with theATC of PLMN B. This is because, in the present example, both the mobileterminal and PLMN B support WCDMA-850. In another example, and assumingfor discussion that the mobile terminal is not configured to supportWCDMA-850, the mobile terminal may determine that the ATC of the mobileterminal is wholly incompatible with the ATC of PLMN B. This is because,in this alternate example, the two particular RATs supported by themobile terminal (GSM and LTE) would be incompatible with the particularRAT supported by PLMN B (WCDMA). In this manner, the mobile terminal mayidentify or determine which ones of the PLMNs that provide coveragewithin the particular geographic region are incompatible, or at leastpartly compatible, with the mobile terminal. Other embodiments arepossible.

The method 100 may still further include generating (module 108), by themobile terminal, a PLMN selection procedure that, when implemented orotherwise instantiated by the mobile terminal, disables at least oneresource of the mobile terminal that is configured to enable a scan ofPLMN-specific supported access technologies, and supported frequencybands of PLMN-specific supported access technologies, that are evaluatedas incompatible with a “preferred” operation of mobile terminal,described in further detail below. The mobile terminal is thusconfigured to intelligently manage local resources. For example, themobile terminal may disable and/or power-down one or more resources ofthe mobile terminal that may be unnecessary for PLMN selection withinthe particular geographic region, and enable or power-on one or moreresources that may be required for PLMN selection within the particulargeographic region. In general, there are many different methods by whichto enable/power-on and/or disable/power-down mobile terminal resources.For example, when particular resources are in a single protocol stack, aparticular access technology may be disabled by setting one or moreflags to avoid or otherwise prevent PLMN selection in the particularaccess technology, or setting one or more registers to disable aparticular hardware device of the particular access technology. Whenresources are in a different protocol stack, the particular accesstechnology may be disabled by setting that protocol stack to a“disabled” state, or an “off” state. Still other embodiments arepossible.

For example, and continuing with the above discussion, the mobileterminal may disable or power-down any local software resource orhardware resource that would otherwise be allocated to implement a PLMNselection scan within GSM-850/GSM-1900 and LTE-800. This is beneficialbecause, in the present example, neither PLMN A nor PLMN B support theLTE access technology (which is supported by the mobile terminal), orGSM communication within bands 850 and 1900 (also supported by themobile terminal). Similarly, the mobile terminal may enable or power-onany local software resource or hardware resource that would be requiredto implement a PLMN selection scan within GSM-900/GSM-1800 andWCDMA-850. This is beneficial because, in the present example, PLMN Asupports GSM communication within bands 900 and 1800 (which is supportedby the mobile terminal), and PLMN B supports WCDMA communication withinband 850 (also supported by the mobile terminal). In this manner, themobile terminal may prevent a scan of particular PLMNs within theparticular geographic region that exhibit supported access technologies,and supported frequency bands of supported access technologies, that areevaluated as incompatible with a “preferred” operation of the mobileterminal.

An operation of the mobile terminal may be “preferred” whencompatibility is uniquely identified (e.g., GSM-900/GSM-1800 issupported by both the mobile terminal and PLMN A). An operation of themobile terminal may also be “preferred” when a particular communicationinterface of the mobile device is disabled to prevent potentialinterference with another particular frequency band of particularcommunication interface of the mobile device. For example, the mobileterminal may disable a GSM-850 interface when a WCDMA-850 connection isavailable and preferred, despite availability of a GSM-850 connection.Disabling a particular communication interface of the mobile device insuch a manner is described in further detail below in connection with atleast FIG. 2.

Such an implementation as discussed in reference to FIG. 1 may bebeneficial in many respects, including at least maximizing mobileterminal battery lifetime and efficiency, as well as improving end-userquality of experience or service. In particular, implementing a PLMNselection scan based upon a PLMN selection procedure as described inexample embodiments of the present disclosure may at least increase orotherwise enhance: 1) mobile terminal battery efficiency: 2) PLMNselection efficiency; and 3) perceived quality and success rate of botha mobile terminal (Mobile Terminating) call and a MO (MobileOriginating) call. In each case, this is because PLMN selection withinnon-existent access technologies, along with unsupported or potentiallynon-ideal frequency bands, may be completely avoided. More specifically,and as described in further detail throughout, permitting a PLMNselection scan of only co-supported RATs, and co-supported frequencybands, enables the mobile terminal to: 1) prevent wasteful powerconsumption; 2) more quickly select a PLMN within a particulargeographic region; and 3) prevent or otherwise mitigate potential callinterference. Other benefits are possible as well.

Further scenarios and beneficial aspects associated with optimizing analgorithm used by a mobile terminal to implement a PLMN selection scanare described below in connection with FIGS. 2-8.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an example simplified mobilecommunications environment 200 is shown. In general, the exampleenvironment 200 includes a mobile multimode UE (User Equipment) 202, anda plurality of PLMNs 204 a-b. The PLMNs 204 a-b are at least configuredto wirelessly communicate with compatibly configured devices inaccordance with a particular access technology. An example of aparticular access technology includes, but is not limited to, the GSM(Global System for Mobile Communications) access technology, the CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access) access technology, the WCDMA (WidebandCode Division Multiple Access) access technology, the CDMA2000 (CodeDivision Multiple Access 2000) access technology, the TD-SCDMA (TimeDivision-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) access technology,the LTE (Long Term Evolution), and many others. Other embodiments of themobile communications environment 200 are possible. For example, theenvironment 200 may include more or fewer PLMNs.

Each of the PLMNs 204 a-b, along with the UE202, are spatiallypositioned within a particular geographic region 206 of arbitrary shapeand size. In general, shape and size of the particular geographic region206 may be determined by one or more of a tangible boundary (e.g.,mountain range) and an intangible boundary (e.g., political boundary).The PLMNs 204 are each respectively configured to provide networkservices or coverage within at least a portion of the particulargeographic region 206. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a coverage area ofa particular one of the PLMNs 204 a-b may or may not overlap withanother one of the PLMNs 204 a-b, and may or may not at least partiallyexceed a boundary of the particular geographic region 206.

The UE202 is shown to include a transceiver module 208, a controllermodule 210, and a memory module 212. In this example, the transceivermodule 208 is shown to include a plurality of communication interfaces214 a-c, each respectively comprised of at least one correspondingsoftware module 216 a-c, and at least one corresponding hardware module218 a-c. For the sake of brevity, the PLMNs 204 a-b are each shown toonly include at least one corresponding BST (Base Station Transceiver)220 a-b. In general, the BSTs 220 a-b each include one or moretransceivers that provide a radio communications link(s) between therespective PLMNs 204 a-b and the transceiver module 208 of the UE202. Inan actual implementation, however, each of the respective PLMNs 204 a-bmay be composed of a plurality of interconnected components andinterfaces, each respectively configured to facilitate the sending andreceiving of information and messages to and from the UE202, theparticulars only being determined by PLMN type and configuration.

For example, assuming that PLMN 204 a is configured to implement orotherwise support a particular GSM access technology (e.g.,GSM-900/GSM-1800). In this example, PLMN 204 a may include variouselements in addition to BST220 a such as one or more BSCs (Base StationControllers). MSCs (Mobile Switching Centers), GMSCs (Gateway MobileSwitching Centers), HLRs (Home Location Registers). VLRs (VisitorLocation Registers), EIRs (Equipment Identity Registers), and AUCs(Authentication Centers). Additionally, each of the PLMNs 204 a-b may becoupled to one or more other networks. For example, FIG. 2 shows each ofthe PLMNs 204 a-b coupled to an Internet computer network 222, in turn,a computing device 224 is coupled to the network 222. In general, suchconnections may be any combination of wireless and hard-wiredconnections.

In practice, the UE202 is configured to perform or instantiate a PLMNselection scan within the particular geographic region 206 following adevice reset event, such as device power-on or loss-of-coverage.Selection of a particular network (e.g., PLMN 204 a) however may beperceivably slow, wasteful in terms of unnecessary power consumption,and susceptible to interference from band overlap between different RATimplementations. In one aspect, the UE202 may be configured to generatean optimized algorithm that addresses these and other issues.

For example, in operation, the transceiver module 208 may initiallyreceive a broadcast from one or both of the PLMNs 204 a-b following aparticular device reset event. The broadcast may include variousinformation such as, for example, a particular MCC code that uniquelyidentifies the particular geographic region 206. On receipt of thebroadcast, the controller module 210 may query a local resource list 226(e.g., using the particular MCC code as a query parameter), which isstored within the memory module 212, to identify the PLMNs 204 a-b asnetworks that are registered to provide land mobile telecommunicationsservices within the particular geographic region 206. For example, thecontroller module 210 may identify all PLMNs stored within the localresource list 226 that exhibit the particular MCC. In this manner, theUE202 may uniquely identify PLMN 204 a and PLMN 204 b as valid networksthat operate within the particular geographic region 206. Otherembodiments are possible.

Following unique identification of the PLMNs 204 a-b, the controllermodule 210 may query the local resource list 226 (e.g., using arespective MCC/MNC tuple as a query parameter) to identify a supportedRAT, and all supported frequency bands of a corresponding supported RAT,for each one of the PLMNs 204 a-b. For example, the controller module210 may determine that PLMN A supports the GSM access technology, inparticular, GSM-900/GSM-1800. The controller module 210 may furtherdetermine that PLMN B supports the WCDMA access technology, inparticular, WCDMA-850. Still further, the controller module 210 mayquery the local resource list 226 to identify all supported RATs, andall supported frequency bands of a corresponding supported RAT, for theUE202. For example, the controller module 210 may determine that thecommunication interface 214 a of the UE202 is configured to supportLTE-800, the communication interface 214 b is configured to supportWCDMA-850, and the communication interface 214 c is configured tosupport GSM-850/GSM-1900 and GSM-900/GSM-1800. Other embodiments arepossible.

The controller module 210 may further compare an ATC (Access TechnologyConfiguration) of each of the PLMNs 204 a-b against an ATC of the UE202to identify ones PLMNs 204 a-b that are at least partially compatiblewith the UE202. For example, the controller module 210 may determinethat the communication interface 214 a of the UE202 is compatible withneither PLMN 204 a nor PLMN 204 b. This is because, in the presentexample, both PLMN 204 a and PLMN 204 b do not support the LTE accesstechnology. The controller module 210 may further determine that thecommunication interface 214 b is incompatible with PLMN 204 a, butcompatible with PLMN 204 b. This is because, in the present example PLMN204 a does not support WCDMA-850, whereas PLMN 204 b does supportWCDMA-850. The controller module 210 may still further determine thatthe communication interface 214 c is compatible with PLMN 204 a, butincompatible with PLMN 204 b. This is because, in the present example,PLMN 204 a supports GSM-900/GSM-1800, whereas PLMN 204 b supportsneither. In this manner, the UE202 may identify or determine which onesof the PLMNs 204 a-b that provide coverage within the particulargeographic region 206 are incompatible, or at least partly compatible,with the UE202. Other embodiments are possible.

Following the identification of ones of the PLMNs 204 a-b that are atleast partially compatible with the UE202, the controller module 210 maygenerate and store the PLMN selection procedure 228 within the memorymodule 212. The PLMN selection procedure 228, when implemented by theUE202, disables at least one software resource and/or at least onehardware resource of the UE202 that is configured to enable a scan ofPLMN-specific supported access technologies, and supported frequencybands of PLMN-specific supported access technologies, that are evaluatedas incompatible with a preferred operation of mobile terminal.

For example, the UE202 may generate and populate the PLMN selectionprocedure 228 with an instruction set to disable or power-down each ofthe software module 216 a and the hardware module 218 a of thecommunication interface 214 a. The respective modules 216 a. 218 a wouldotherwise be allocated to implement a PLMN selection scan of LTE accesstechnology within the particular geographic region 206. Disabling orremoving power supply from the modules 216 a, 218 a is beneficialbecause, in the present example, neither PLMN 204 a nor PLMN 204 bsupport the LTE access technology. This may translate into a powersavings, and an increase in efficiency and battery life of a portablebattery (not shown) of the UE202. Further, preventing the scan of anon-existent PLMN access technology directly translates into a fasterselection of a particular PLMN (e.g., PLMN 204 a) within a particularregion (e.g., geographic region 206). This is because time is not spenton scanning non-existent PLMN RATs.

Similarly, the UE202 may generate and populate the PLMN selectionprocedure 228 with an instruction set to enable or power-on one or bothof the software module 216 b and the hardware module 218 b of thecommunication interface 214 b. One or both of these respective modules216 b, 218 b may be required to implement a PLMN selection scan withinthe WCDMA access technology within the particular geographic region 206.This is beneficial because, in the present example, PLMN 204 b supportsWCDMA-850. Further, the UE202 may generate and populate the PLMNselection procedure 228 with an instruction set to disable or power-downeach of the software module 216 c and the hardware module 218 c of thecommunication interface 214 c. The respective modules 216 c, 218 c wouldotherwise be allocated to implement a PLMN selection scan of GSM accesstechnology within the particular geographic region 206. In this example,GSM communications within band 900/1800 is supported by both the UE202and PLMN 204 a. Since the UE202 also supports GSM-850/GSM-1900, thecontroller module 210 may thus preferably disable GSM-850/GSM-1900support in the communication interface 214 c to prevent potentialinterference with signals propagated to and from the communicationinterface 214 b (and BST220 b), which implements WCDMA communications inband 850.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 3, an example embodiment of the localresource list 226 of FIG. 2 is shown. The example local resource list226 is shown to include a PLMN section 302 and a UE section 304. ThePLMN section 302 generally specifies a plurality of PLMN-specific accesstechnology configuration parameters. For example, the PLMN section 302is partitioned into a list entry column 306 that identifies a particularrow within the PLMN section 302, an PLMN ID column 308, a supported RATcolumn 310, a supported frequency bands column 312, and an “otherfeatures” column 314. In the example shown, respective fields of thePLMN section 302 are populated with parameters specific to the PLMNs 204a-b, as described above in connection with FIG. 2. Additionally, thecolumn 314 may contain any other feature(s) information associated witha particular PLMN such as, for example, whether a particular PLMNsupports SMS-CB (Short Message Service-Cell Broadcast). In FIG. 3, thePLMN A is shown to support SMS-CB. In this example, the UE202 (e.g.,controller module 210) may be configured to adaptively enable/disablehardware and/or software modules associated with a SMS-CB of the UE202while “camping-on” a particular cell of PLMN A. Such an implementationmay further increase mobile terminal battery lifetime and efficiency, aswell as improving end-user quality of experience or service, such asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1.

The UE section 304 generally specifies a plurality of UE-specific accesstechnology configuration parameters, and PLMN-selection-relatedparameters. For example, the example UE section 304 is partitioned intoa configuration row 316 and an exception row 318. The exampleconfiguration row 316 is partitioned into a priority/supported RAT cell320 and a supported frequency band cell 322. In the example shown,respective fields of the configuration row 316 are populated withparameters specific to the UE202, as described above in connection withFIG. 2. The example exception row 318 is partitioned into a default scancell 324, a scan flag cell 326, a chipset designator cell 328, and aresource disable cell 330. Details associated with the example exceptionrow 318 of the local resource list 226 are discussed in further detailbelow in connection with FIGS. 4-5.

Referring now additionally FIG. 4, an example embodiment of the PLMNselection procedure 228 of FIG. 2 is shown. The PLMN selection procedure228 is shown to include a priority column 402, a RAT designator column404, a frequency band scan column 406, a resource disable column 408,and a default scan row 410. In the example shown, the priority column402, RAT designator column 404, and frequency band scan column 406 arepopulated with parameters specific to the UE202, derived from theconfiguration row 316 of the UE section 304 of the local resource list226 as shown in FIG. 2. The default scan row 410 includes a binary (Y/N)indicator. As described in further detail below in connection with FIG.5, the default scan row 410 indicates a binary “Y” to instruct the UE202(controller module 210) to implement a PLMN selection scan in allsupported RATs of the UE202, and all supported frequency bands of acorresponding RAT of the UE202, within the particular geographic region206 when at least one of the PLMNs listed within the PLMN section 302 ofthe local resource list 226 does not specify any supported frequencybands within the supported frequency band column 312. Such a situationis “default” when a band allocation scheme of a particular PLMN isunknown.

As described above in connection with FIG. 2-4, PLMN selection procedure228 is dependent on information contained within the local resource list226. In general, the local resource list 226 may be maintained by theUE202 and/or periodically or at least intermittently updated by acompare and update algorithm using a network resource list 230 (see FIG.2). For example, and referring now to FIG. 5, a method 500 formaintaining the local resource list 226 of FIG. 2 is shown.

The example method 500 includes reading (module 502), by the controllermodule 210, information contained within the network resource list 230.In general, the network resource list 230 is formatted in a mannersubstantially similar to the local resource list 226. For example, thenetwork resource list 230 may at least include a PLMN section formattedto include similar information specified within the PLMN section 302,described above in connection with FIG. 3. For example, the networkresource list 230 may at least include a list entry column thatidentifies a particular row within the PLMN section, a PLMN ID column, asupported RAT column, a supported frequency band column, etc., thattogether specifies a plurality of PLMN-specific access technologyconfiguration parameters associated with PLMN networks (e.g., PLMN 204a-b) each respectively configured to provide network services orcoverage within the particular geographic region 206 shown in FIG. 2. Inthis example, however, the network resource list 230 may include more“up-to-date” information than the local resource list 226 as storedwithin the memory module 212 of the UE202. The “up-to-date” informationmay be populated to the network resource list 230 in any number of ways.For example, one or both of the PLMNs 204 a-b may periodically or atleast intermittently update the network resource list 230, and thenbroadcast the network resource list 230 to the UE202 such that the UE202may update the local resource list 226. In another example, anindividual or entity, such as an end-user, an administrator,manufacturer, and others, may manually update the network resource list230 using the computing device 224 (see FIG. 2) and then publish anupdated version of the network resource list 230 to a network (e.g.,Internet 222). Subsequently, one or both of the PLMNs 204 a-b mayperiodically or at least intermittently broadcast the network resourcelist 230 to the UE202 such that the UE202 may update the local resourcelist 226. Alternatively, a user of the UE202 may download the updatedversion of the network resource list 230 via the Internet 222 to updatethe local resource list 226. Still other embodiments are possible.

The example method 500 further includes updating (module 504), by thecontroller module 210, the local resource list 226 by comparing allPLMN-specific entries of the local resource list 226 against the networkresource list 230, and modifying the local resource list 226 to reflectany changes. For example, the network resource list 230 may indicatethat the band allocation scheme for PLMN 204 a has changed. In thisexample, the local resource list 226 may be updated by the controllermodule 210 to reflect the modified band allocation scheme. In instanceswhere there are no changes in information associated with a particularPLMN (e.g., PLMN 204 a), corresponding information within the localresource list 226 may remain unmodified. In instances where the networkresource list 230 includes information about a particular PLMN, and thelocal resource list 226 does not include some or any information aboutthe particular PLMN, the local resource list 226 may be updated by thecontroller module 210 to reflect the new information. Still otherscenarios are possible.

For example, in instances where the local resource list 226 includesparticular information about a particular PLMN, and the network resourcelist 230 does not include any information about the particular PLMN, thecontroller module 210 may identify a source of the particularinformation to determine whether or not to update the local resourcelist 226. For example, when the particular information is determined tobe from an “old” version of the network resource list 230, the localresource list 226 may be updated by the controller module 210 to reflectinformation from the old version of the network resource list 230. Whenthe particular information is determined to be from a PLMN selectionscan result, the local resource list 226 may be maintained withoutchange by the controller module 210. Other embodiments are possible. Forexample, in instances where particular information is identified as partof or during a PLMN selection scan that is absent from or not includedwithin the network resource list 230, the local resource list 226 may beupdated by the controller module 210 to reflect such information. Stillother embodiments are possible. In this manner, the UE202 may provideinformation to the PLMNs 204 a-b that the PLMNs 204 a-b may not alreadyhave. Following appropriate updating of the local resource list 226 (seemodule 504), an updated version of the local resource list 226 may beused (module 506) for generating a PLMN selection procedure such asdescribed in example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As mentioned above, the local resource list 226 includes an exceptionrow 318 within the UE section 304 of the local resource list 226 (seeFIG. 3). In example embodiments, the controller module 210 is configuredto query respective fields within the exception row 318 as part of theprocess of generating the PLMN selection procedure 228. For example, andreferring now to FIG. 6, an example method 600 for updating exceptiondata within the local resource list 226 of FIG. 2 is shown.

The example method 600 includes a “camp-on” operation 602. At operation602, a particular cell of a particular PLMN (e.g., PLMN 204 a) withinthe particular geographic region 206 is “camped-on.” In general, a cellis “camped-on” once the particular cell of the particular PLMN isselected to provide available services to the UE202. As part of thoseservices, the particular PLMN may broadcast various information to theUE202 including, for example, various PLMN-specific access technologyconfiguration parameters, such as those described above in connectionwith FIG. 3. For example, the UE202 may receive a broadcast from PLMN204 a that specifies PLMN ID, supported RAT, and a supported frequencybands of a supported RAT for PLMN 204 a. Such information may be stored(and/or compared and stored, see FIG. 4) within corresponding fields ofthe local resource list 226 as shown in FIG. 3.

The method 600 further includes an identifying operation 604. Atoperation 604, the local resource list 226 may be searched to identifyband allocation scheme information for each of the PLMNs 204 a-b thatoperate within the particular geographic region 206. When at least oneparticular band allocation scheme cannot be identified at operation 604,the method 600 branches to a set default operation 606. At operation606, the default scan cell 324 of the exception row 318 of the localresource list 226 is queried to read a particular rule contained therein(i.e., “If no designated PLMN-specific band allocation scheme . . . ”)and, upon verification of the particular rule, a flag within the scanflag cell 326 of the exception row 318 is set to “True” for example. Themethod 600 then proceeds to a “use” operation 608 where an updatedversion of the local resource list 226 may be subsequently used forgenerating a PLMN selection procedure such as described in exampleembodiments of the present disclosure. More specifically, the controllermodule 210 may generate the PLMN selection procedure 228 such that thedefault scan row 410 indicates a binary “Y” to instruct the UE202(controller module 210) to implement a PLMN selection scan in allsupported RATs of the UE202, and all supported frequency bands of acorresponding RAT of the UE202. In this manner, when band allocationscheme information for each of the PLMNs 204 a-b that operate within theparticular geographic region 206 cannot be determined, a “default” PLMNselection scan may include scanning all UE202 supported RATs, and allcorresponding supported frequency bands. Other embodiments are possible.

Referring back to operation 604, when a particular band allocationscheme for each of the PLMNs 204 a-b can be identified at operation 604,the method 600 branches to a set resource operation 610. At operation610, the chipset designator cell 328 of the exception row 318 of thelocal resource list 226 is queried to determine whether the UE202 isconfigured as single-chip or multi-chip device. More specifically, atdetermining whether the plurality of communication interfaces 214 a-c ofthe transceiver module 208 are located on a single integrated circuit,or are located on multiple, distinct integrated circuits. Upondetermining that the UE202 chipset type at operation 610, a resourcedisable parameter within the resource disable cell 330 of the exceptionrow 318 is set to “HW” or “SW” or “All.” The method 600 then proceeds tothe “use” operation 608 where an updated version of the local resourcelist 226 may be subsequently used for generating a PLMN selectionprocedure.

More specifically, the controller module 210 may generate the PLMNselection procedure 228 such that the resource disable column 408indicates “HW” or “SW” or “All” when it is determined that one or moreresources of a particular communication interface of the UE202 (e.g.,communication interfaces 214 a) is to be disabled during a PLMNselection scan. In some embodiments, “HW” may be specified within theresource disable column 408 when it is determined at operation 610 thatthe UE202 is a multi-chip device, and “SW” may be specified within theresource disable column 408 when it is determined at operation 610 thatthe UE202 is a single-chip device. Additionally, in other embodiments.“All” may be specified within the resource disable column 408 when it isdetermined at operation 610 that the UE202 is either one of multi-chipdevice or single chip. Such an implementation may serve to more to fullydisable or power-off all features of a particular communicationinterface of the UE202, thus potentially conserving additional power andeffectively further preventing prevent wasteful power consumption. Stillother embodiments are possible.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an example embodiment of a GUI (Graphical UserInterface) 700 configured for controlling resource list updatefunctionality, and interacting with the local resource list 226 of FIG.3 is shown. In particular, the example GUI 700 is shown to include aresource list update section 702, and resource list section 704. More orfewer sections of the GUI 700 are possible.

In this example, the resource list update section 702 is shown toinclude a first update item 706, a second update item 708, and a thirdupdate item 710. In general, the first update item 706 may enable a userto selectively enforce either an automatic or manual resource listupdate function or functionality. For example, when the first updateitem 706 is selected as “automatic,” such as shown in FIG. 7, the localresource list 226 may be updated without manual user input in a mannersuch as described above in connection with FIGS. 5-6. Alternately, whenthe first update item 706 is selected as “manual,” the local resourcelist 226 may be updated with manual user input. For example, uponselection of the first update item 706 to “manual,” the local resourcelist 226 may be presented to the user within the resource list section704 such that the user may modify one or more of a plurality ofparameters listed within either one of the PLMN section 302 and the UEsection 304 of the local resource list 226. Other embodiments arepossible.

The second update item 708 may enable a user to selectively enforceeither an update of the local resource list 226 by a computer networkconnection only, or by both a computer network connection and a mobilenetwork connection. For example, when the second update item 708 isselected as “WiFi” the local resource list 226 may be updated only via acommunication connection between the UE202 and a particular WiFi accesspoint or hotspot. Alternately, when the second update item 708 isselected as “WiFi and Mobile Network,” as shown in FIG. 7, the localresource list 226 may be updated via a communication connection betweenthe UE202 and a particular WiFi access point or, for example, may beupdated via a communication connection between the UE202 and aparticular 3G network connection. The third update item 710 may enable auser to selectively enforce an update of the local resource list 226when roaming. For example, when “roam enable” is selected (as shown inFIG. 7) and the second update item 708 is selected as “WiFi and MobileNetwork,” the local resource list 226 may be updated via a communicationconnection between the UE202 and a particular 3G network connection thatis not within a HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) associated withthe UE202. Other embodiments are possible.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of an example mobile computer system ordevice 800. An example of such a computer system or device includes asmart phone, feature phone, laptop computer, personal data assistant,and others. The computer system 800 may be wholly or at least partiallyincorporated as part of previously-described computing devices, such asthe UE202, various components of PLMNs 204 a-b, and computer device 224of FIG. 2. The example computer device 800 may be configured to performand/or include instructions that, when executed, cause the computersystem 800 to perform the method of FIGS. 1, 5, and 6.

Additionally, the computer device 800 may be configured to performand/or include instructions that, when executed, cause the computersystem 800 to implement, generate, and the like, a graphical userinterface, such as the graphical user interface of FIG. 7. It should benoted that FIG. 8 is intended only to provide a generalized illustrationof various components, any or all of which may be utilized asappropriate. FIG. 8, therefore, broadly illustrates how individualsystem elements may be implemented in a relatively separated orrelatively more integrated manner.

The computer device 800 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 802 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include aprocessing unit with one or more processors 804, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like); one or more inputdevices 806, which can include without limitation a remote control, amouse, a keyboard, and/or the like: and one or more output devices 808,which can include without limitation a presentation device (e.g.,television), a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 800 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 810, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devicesmay be configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer device 800 might also include a communications subsystem812, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 812 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example),other computer systems, and/or any other devices described herein. Inmany embodiments, the computer system 800 will further comprise aworking memory 814, which can include a RAM or ROM device, as describedabove.

The computer device 800 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 814, including anoperating system 816, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 818, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed above,and/or system components might be implemented as code and/orinstructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor within acomputer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be usedto configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device)to perform one or more operations in accordance with the describedmethods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 810 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 800.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as flash memory), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure, and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the computer device 800and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system 800 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.), then takes theform of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer device 800) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 800 in response to processor 804executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 816 and/or other code, such asan application program 818) contained in the working memory 814. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 814 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the storage device(s)810. Merely by way of example, execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in the working memory 814 might cause theprocessor(s) 804 to perform one or more procedures of the methodsdescribed herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer device 800, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)804 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as the storagedevice(s) 810. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamicmemory, such as the working memory 814.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 804for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 800.

The communications subsystem 812 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 804 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 814, from which the processor(s) 804 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 814 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device810 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 804.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various method steps orprocedures, or system components as appropriate. For instance, inalternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and/or various stages may be added,omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect tocertain configurations may be combined in various other configurations.Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined ina similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of theelements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure orclaims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Furthermore, the example embodiments described herein may be implementedas logical operations in a computing device in a networked computingsystem environment. The logical operations may be implemented as: (i) asequence of computer implemented instructions, steps, or program modulesrunning on a computing device; and (ii) interconnected logic or hardwaremodules running within a computing device.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) selection procedure, comprising: identifying, by a mobileterminal, a plurality of PLMNs each operably configured to providecoverage within at least a portion of a particular geography;determining, by the mobile terminal, a supported access technology, andsupported frequency bands of the supported access technology, of each ofthe plurality of PLMNs; and generating, by the mobile terminal, the PLMNselection procedure that, when instantiated by the mobile terminal,disables at least one of a software resource and a hardware resource ofthe mobile terminal to prevent a scan of particular ones of theplurality of PLMNS that exhibit supported access technologies, andsupported frequency bands of supported access technologies, incompatiblewith a preferred operation of the mobile terminal.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: comparing an access technologyconfiguration of each one of the plurality of PLMNs against an accesstechnology configuration of the mobile terminal; and identifying theparticular ones of the plurality of PLMNs that are incompatible with thepreferred operation of the mobile terminal.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: identifying a discrepancy between a first accesstechnology configuration of a particular PLMN, specified within anidentity module of the mobile terminal, and a second access technologyconfiguration of the particular PLMN, specified within a local resourcelist of the mobile terminal, the first specified access technologyconfiguration including incomplete configuration information of theparticular PLMN; instantiating the PLMN selection procedure; andimplementing, based on the local resource list, a selection scan ofPLMN-specific supported access technologies, and supported frequencybands of corresponding PLMN-specific supported access technologies, thatare compatible with the preferred operation of the mobile terminal. 4.The method of claim 2, further comprising: instantiating the PLMNselection procedure; and implementing a selection scan of PLMN-specificsupported access technologies, and supported frequency bands ofcorresponding PLMN-specific supported access technologies, that arecompatible with the preferred operation of the mobile terminal.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising at least one of: ceasing supply ofpower to the hardware resource to disable the hardware resource; andterminating at least one computer-implemented algorithm associated withthe software resource to disable the software resource.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: identifying, based on the selection scanand from the plurality of PLMNs, a plurality of preferred PLMNs;identifying a priority level of each one of the plurality of preferredPLMNs; and selecting a most significant PLMN of the plurality ofpreferred PLMNs for establishing a communication connection with themobile terminal.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:identifying, based on the selection scan, a preferred PLMN selected fromthe plurality of PLMNs; and establishing a communication connectionbetween the preferred PLMN and the mobile terminal.
 8. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: searching, by a mobilemultimode user equipment (MMUE) and in response to a predeterminedevent, a resource list that identifies a plurality of public land mobilenetworks (PLMNs), and that specifies an access technology configurationof each one of the plurality of PLMNs; comparing, by the MMUE and basedon the searching, an access technology configuration of the MMUE againstthe access technology configuration of each one of the plurality ofPLMNs to identify ones of the plurality of PLMNs that exhibit at leastone supported access technology in common with the MMUE; selecting, bythe MMUE and based on the comparing, at least one PLMN, from the ones ofthe plurality of PLMNs, as a candidate network to serve the MMUE withina particular geographic region; and implementing a PLMN selectionprocedure that scans supported access technologies, and supportedfrequency bands of supported access technologies, of the at least onePLMN, that are compatible with the MMUE, and that disables a resource ofthe MMUE operably configured to scan supported access technologies, andsupported frequency bands of supported access technologies, of the atleast one PLMN that are incompatible with a preferred operation of theMMUE.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising at least one of:disabling a hardware resource of the MMUE by ceasing supply of power tothe hardware resource; and disabling a software resource of the MMUE byterminating at least one computer-implemented algorithm associated withthe software resource.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprisingsearching the resource list in response to a power-on event of the MMUE.11. The method of claim 8, further comprising searching the resourcelist in response to a cell camp-on event of the MMUE where the MMUEobtained service of a particular PLMN within the particular geographicregion.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving anupdated resource list from the at least one PLMN; modifying the resourcelist to reflect changes thereto; and storing the modified resource listin a local memory of the MMUE.
 13. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: identifying a discrepancy between particular PLMNconfiguration information identified based on the PLMN selectionprocedure and associated PLMN configuration information within theresource list; modifying the resource list to correct for thediscrepancy; and storing the modified resource list in a local memory ofthe MMUE.
 14. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving anupdated resource list from an online resource different than the atleast one PLMN; modifying the resource list to reflect changes thereto;and storing the modified resource list in a local memory of the MMUE.15. The method of claim 8, further comprising: identifying one or moreaccess technology configuration properties of the at least one PLMN thatare absent from the resource list; modifying the resource list toreflect changes thereto; and storing the modified resource list in thelocal memory of the mobile device.
 16. A multimode mobile device,comprising: a plurality of communication interfaces each operablyconfigured to communicate with at least one public land mobile network(PLMN) according to a particular access technology; at least one memorycache configured to store a data list that specifies an accesstechnology configuration of the mobile device, and an access technologyconfiguration of each of a plurality of PLMNs, the plurality of PLMNseach operably configured to provide network coverage within at least aportion of a particular geographic region; and a controller coupled toeach one of the plurality of communication interfaces and the at leastone memory cache, the controller operably configured to at leastimplement a PLMN selection process that disables at least one of asoftware resource and a hardware resource of the multimode mobile deviceto prevent a scan of particular ones of the plurality of PLMNS thatexhibit supported access technologies, and supported frequency bands ofsupported access technologies, incompatible with a preferred operationof the multimode mobile device.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein thecontroller is configured to disable the hardware resource by ceasingsupply of power to the hardware resource, and to disable the softwareresource by terminating at least one computer-implemented algorithmassociated with the software resource.
 18. The device of claim 16,further comprising a display, wherein the controller module isconfigured to instantiate a graphical user interface for presentation onthe display, the graphical user interface configured to: enableuser-selection between an automatic and manual resource list updatefunction; enable user-selection between a computer network and computernetwork and mobile network resource list update function; and enableuser-selection to disable a roaming list update function.
 19. The deviceof claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to disable aparticular communication interface of the mobile device during a camp-onevent, where the mobile device obtained service of a particular PLMNwithin the particular geographic region.
 20. The device of claim 16,wherein the controller is further configured to instantiate the PLMNselection process and implement a selection scan of PLMN-specificsupported access technologies, and supported frequency bands ofcorresponding PLMN-specific supported access technologies, that arecompatible with the preferred operation of the mobile device.